SME

Underpin & Makegood Group – Branding

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Complete branding package for group of companies that previously had operated under separate names and visual identities. Our approach was to create a single stylised ‘building’ device, with one ‘floor’ representing each company within the group. Colour coding was used to differentiate the groups in certain instances.

The name “U&M Group” and strapline “Experience and Expertise” were created, following a Business Discovery workshop.

Work included stationery, signage, vehicle livery, staff uniforms and a revamped corporate website.

Villiers Brothers – Strategic Marketing

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For over 25 years the Villiers Brothers have been creating stunning high-end furniture and sculpture using a blend of traditional metalworking techniques, inspired designs and cutting-edge technology.

Whilst they have prestigious clients worldwide and have achieved many accolades, we were engaged to explore further opportunities for marketing their work more widely and taking fuller advantage of digital channels.

We delivered a brand refocus and digital marketing strategy to refocus their messaging on their authentic offer – setting them apart from any competition and communicating the passion, craft and sheer hard work involved in creating their pieces.

KING 9 EUROPE – Branded Content

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Archipelago developed a brand strategy, developed visual branding and created initial materials for an Asian manufacturing company expanding in to Europe.

Key challenges included creating visual impact and a clear proposition in a crowded and well-established marketplace.

King 9 – Video #1
King 9 – Video #2
King 9 – Video #3

Content like this is typically used to generate awareness of a new product or player in the marketplace, and to start building an audience through social media.

Start-up Strategy: Explanimation

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In 2010 a wide range of subsidies and incentives for renewable energy technologies came into force in the UK. 

The tariffs were incredibly generous and, almost overnight, a new industry sprang up to meet the exploding demand for installation. 

Some of the technologies, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, were pretty simple to understand. Others, like Air-source heat pumps, were counterintuitive and the basic principles hard to explain. In addition, the tariffs themselves were complex, and the rates changed every three months.

Having already done some creative work in this sector, and with a strong personal interest in renewable energy, we identified the widespread need for small/medium businesses with limited marketing budgets to explain the technologies and tariffs to their customers.

With video rapidly ascending as the premium content format for online marketing, we created a set of renewable energy explainers using an clean, minimal 2d animation style. We devised a way to add customer branding to the videos, a custom online player, and a brandable video file distribution system. We created a licensing model that protected our IP but allowed for customised content and, most importantly, we updated the videos live every three months or when tariffs changed.

This way, for a simple, scalable monthly or annual subscription fee, businesses could show branded explainers on their websites and in face-to-face sales scenarios, with always up—to-date tariffs and worked examples of cost savings. This avoiding the one-off costs for producing highly-researched animated content which would then have to be periodically amended.

The service was immensely popular and, relying almost entirely on carefully researched direct marketing (for larger customers) and natural viral propagation (for everyone else), we captured a huge slice of the market and ran highly profitably for several years.

Eventually changes to environmental policy drove down (or wound up) the available tariffs – the industry shrank back accordingly and we decided not to grow the business any further until renewable energy returns to the UK government’s priority list.

Our Explainer Videos combined stylised explanations of mechanical processes with clear visual presentations of tariff data and calculations.

Key Achievements

  • Produced some of the most effective explainers ever made about renewable energy technologies across 16 topics
  • Devised innovative content-licensing model to protect our IP in customer-branded materials
  • Developed online app to part-automate video creation process and remotely manage access
  • Customers included UK Government, EDF, Wolseley/Plumb Center, Saint-Gobain as well as hundreds of SMEs